Minato and Kushina's bodies were taken away from the sight of the carnage but it was easy to tell they had been there. Blood smeared the dark green grass. A painful reminder of the fall of the Yondaime and the Jinchūriki. Trees splintered the ground and kunai stuck off from various points in the ground. Not even a powerful genjutsu could disguise the massive craters that penetrated the ground.
Hiruzen took the twins to the hospital and had them placed along with the new born babies. Surprisingly, they were the only ones there. It seemed that either other mothers thought it best to be at home after the attack happened to keep their children safe. Sadly for the twins before him, they wouldn't know the sacrifice their parents went through to keep them safe.
The nurses tended to the two, allowing Hiruzen to be able to go and speak with the Keepers. A lot had to be done. With the Yondaime's sacrifice and the loss of the Kyūubi and Nibi Jinchūriki, there was things that needed to be discussed.
He changed out of the tight and restricting battle armour he wore and made his way to the Keepers Meeting chambers. It was a fairly defensible position but also well hidden. It was built into the side of the Hokage Monument and the entrance was on the opposite side, not visible to anyone in the village. The Council Chambers the villagers knew was a tall structure close to the Hokage office. Hiruzen didn't agree with this law, but any decision he made had to go through proper channels of the Keepers.
Hopefully, he would be able to do something about the twins.
Please, just make sure that Naruto and Kitsune are safe. I beg of you...
Hiruzen tried to force Kushina's voice out of his mind. It was torturing enough to know he wasn't able to help them.
He leapt up onto the face of the Second Hokage, moving over the detailed carved the rock. He dropped down to the ground. In front of him, shadowed by the barricade that blocked out the moon's light. The concrete doors couldn't even be seen. Hiruzen walked up cautiously to it. An attack had proceeded only minutes ago. Caution was understandable.
The door was brown concrete with intricate symbols engraved over it. There were no handles. Someone had to open it from the inside. Hiruzen knocked twice on the door.
It echoed on the opposite end. He began to wonder if the Keeppes were even alive. It had all happened so suddenly...
"Who goes there?"
He snapped out his daze and looked up. The doors hadn't opened but someone was there.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen," Hiruzen answered. It was how people knew it was the real him. But he got the feeling that he would need to change it or else someone would be able to copy him exactly.
The doors slid open, small bits of rocks falling to the ground. A small cloud of dust came off from the door. Out from the dust stepped a rather young man. He had shaggy pale blonde hair hanging over his right eye but the eye that was visible was a bright green. He wore standard Konoha uniform but didn't seem to have the headband. His eye widened in surprise as he stared at Hiruzen.
He looked past Hiruzen, his eye searching for something.
"Where is the Yondaime?" he asked.
Hiruzen's face remained blank. The man visibly saddened, looking down at the ground. "I see..." he looked back up. "I take it that also means Uzumaki-sama..."
Still, he did not answer.
The shinobi took the hint and stepped to the side. Hiruzen walked past and headed down the dark passageway. Not a light was to be seen. Maybe it was a way to disguise the stench that filtered all around. It was potent like decaying flesh mixed in with the musk of having no windows to ventilate the chambers. Hiruzen walked down a set of small steps and down the hall. A white light was at the end of the hall, beckoning for him to come toward it. Maybe it was the exhaustion and the lack of chakra, but Hiruzen suddenly became drowsy as he came closer to the light.
An arm wrapped around his shoulders and he looked up to see the blonde shinobi holding him up. He didn't look at him as they walked, focused entirely on getting the Hokage to the Keepers chambers. The walk was slow but the light became more and more distinct. Hiruzen shielded his eyes from the blinding light. His eyes burned even though they were closed.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. Attached to every corner of the circular room were lanterns burning white-blue flames. The walls were made of similar concrete to the entrance but were more chipped off and cracked. In the centre of the room was a circular platform in the floor that was divided into five. Behind the platform was a large table with five people standing behind it. Each wore a cloak with a hood pulled over their faces.
"Hokage-sama. To what do we owe the pleasure?" the middle Keeper asked. Her voice was delicate but firm and she wore a white cloak with gold rimmed over the hood and gold wraps around her hands.
The blonde shinobi led Hiruzen to the platform in the ground but stopped just before reaching it. He slipped away from him and stepped to the side, moving to stand near the Keepers table.
Hiruzen looked up at the Keepers. They were second in command of the village but no one had seen them. They carried out their orders without getting involved in politics, preferring to stay out of conflict. But they were stronger than they looked. They wouldn't be made helpers to the Hokage for nothing.
Hiruzen looked at the middle Keeper. "Issues have risen in the village. Issues that will cause the villagers to panic," Hiruzen answered.
"Let us guess, the Yondaime sacrificed himself for the village and his Jinchūriki wife also sacrificed herself as well," the red cloaked Keeper answered, his voice gruff and annoyed.
"No need for the sarcasm, Ohwada-kun. Allow Hokage-sama to speak freely without your indecent interruptions," the green cloaked Keeper said, a playful smirk on her full lips. On her bottom lip was one dark green line that stopped at the hollow of her lip.
"Indecent? That is the truth. If the Yondaime had to survive I'd be more surprised. You don't see him anywhere now, do you?"
Hiruzen stared at the Ohwada. He was the Keeper of Life force. A position that didn't really suit his personality considering he hated everyone and everything. The hood shadowed his eyes and revealed a square jaw and a beauty mark below his lip. Hiruzen remembered when Ohwada was still a teenager. He had always been hot-headed and quick to anger. But he was strong willed and an even stronger shinobi.
Ohwada muttered something under his breath and looked away from the green cloaked woman.
The blue cloaked Keeper leaned forward and his mouth drew into a straight line. "Is that the truth, Hokage-sama? Where is the Yondaime? And the Jinchūriki?"
Hiruzen turned his attention to the platform in the ground. There was a thin gap in the platform that caused it to rise when all five Keepers were around it at their correct positions. He didn't feel comfortable speaking about Minato and Kushina like they died months ago when it was just mere minutes ago. Sucking in a deep breath, Hiruzen looked up at the five and spoke up, "The Yondaime and the Kyūubi and Nibi Jinchūriki sacrificed themselves to protect the village. Preparations need to be made to replace the Yondaime until a time when we can choose a new candidate for the position of Hokage."
The black cloaked Keeper looked up slowly. He had been staring down intently at the table counter but had twitched slightly when Hiruzen mentioned that the Yondaime had sacrificed himself. "Where are the Bijū now? I hear no commotion outside to indicate they're still running amuck," he spoke up. His skin was ghostly pale and his voice was soft and drawled.
"The Bijū were sealed into the bodies of the Yondaime's new born children."
The white cloaked Keeper lifted her head and turned to the black cloaked Keeper at the end of the table. They shared a look before turning to Hiruzen. "Where are they now? Are they alive?"
Hiruzen nodded. "They are currently being treated in Konoha hospital. We need to make sure they didn't sustain any injuries during the attack."
"The mere fact they are alive is... astounding. For a new born baby to be alive after having a Chakura no Bakemono sealed within them. Did they show any signs of resistance to the Bijū?" the blue cloaked Keeper questioned.
"They are too young to notice any distinctive patterns. As they grow, the Bijū's power will become one with theirs if they allow it. Until then, we need to make sure they are properly accounted for," the white Keeper said, straightening up.
The green cloaked Keeper immediately turned to her. "Suzuno-san, are you being reasonable? We're talking about children here. Children! How are they supposed to handle the responsibilities that come with being Jinchūriki?"
"Asuka's right. Jinchūriki are human weapons used in times of war. It is as if we're creating a weapon from birth. Even I know that's not a good idea. Children are not meant to be raised as weapons," Ohwada leaned back and folded his arms over his chest. Asuka glanced at Ohwada and looked away quickly. Hiruzen noticed the way Asuka's cheeks seemed to lighten to pink and wanted to smile but couldn't bring himself to do it when he had watched a couple die.
The black cloaked Keeper heaved an annoyed sigh. "Nothing we can do now. Once a Bijū has been sealed inside a host, the only viable outcome of removing it would be death," the three Keepers stared at him. Only Suzuno stared in front of her.
The black cloaked Keeper raised and lowered one shoulder. "What? I'm speaking the truth. No one in history has ever survived having a Bijū removed from their chakra network. As soon as they are sealed inside a host, the Bijū's chakra joins with their Jinchūriki causing the chakra to be immensely powerful. If they allow it, the Jinchūriki can allow the Bijū to become one with them. Unless you want these children to die, I will gladly remove the Bijū from them both and we can hand them to a neighbouring village as a peace offering."
Asuka looked down at the table sadly then up at Hiruzen. "Have you decided how to handle the situation, Hokage-sama? These children can never find out of their true fates."
Hiruzen shook his head. He hadn't really thought that far. Naruto and Kitsune would have no choice but to grow up with adoptive parents... if anyone would accept them. Not many would accept having Jinchūriki as children. He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "No. Since the Yondaime and his wife are dead, the two have no choice but to live with an adoptive parent until such a time as they can live on their own. Unfortunately, no one comes to mind for the two."
"That's not surprising. Jinchūriki aren't known for being welcoming children," the blue cloaked Keeper answered, looking off to the side.
"Kenji..." Asuka hissed.
"Most Jinchūriki are young adults or teenagers. Not mere babies who can barely control that amount of chakra. What are the chances they even survived? They could've died from the time Hokage-sama left them at the hospital."
"Don't give up on them so easily, Kenji-san. It is actually better this way," Suzuno answered, clasping her fingers together.
Kenji turned to Suzuno in surprise. "Huh?"
Suzuno ignored him and looked past him toward the black cloaked Keeper. "Togami-kun, any suggestions?"
He was silent for a moment, staring at the table as if it were the most fascinating thing he had ever seen in his life. Finally, he looked up at Hiruzen, ice blue eyes piercing through the shadows of his cloak. "Hokage-sama, the twins will be sent to live with Yamamoto Yumi in the slums of Konoha. They will be able to live their lives peacefully there without the fear of being harmed by the villagers. Living under such harsh poverty will increase their will to survive and provide them with a certain ability to handle living under the care of common trait criminals. These criminals will not care that these children are Jinchūriki and will leave them to grow up on their own. As for the position of Hokage, the Yondaime had left the position so soon that we weren't able to think up of any worthy candidates. Sarutobi Hiruzen, you will continue your position as Hokage."
Hiruzen nodded and stared down at the platform in front of him. Back to being Hokage. Just his luck. But he would accept the responsibility. For Minato.
What really impressed Hiruzen was the fact Togami and Suzuno seemed to be the leaders of the group. The Keepers never really answered to one specific leader. In fact, they all seemed to be a leader in some way depending on what type of Keeper they were. Hiruzen looked up at the five. "I will graciously reaccept the position of Hokage on behalf of Namikaze Minato and live up to the best of my ability that the village remains safe and secure."
"Glad to hear it," Suzuno smirked. She slipped her hands into each other's sleeves and the rest of the councillors followed suite. "The twins will be kept at the hospital and have the reasonable amount of tests run on them to make sure everything in up to snuff. Hokage-sama, you need to summon Yamamoto Yumi to your office and tell of her new responsibility. You will resume your position as Hokage until you feel it necessary to appoint a new candidate. But, until them... Good luck, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen was escorted out of the chamber but the same blonde shinobi who looked more serious than he had when they entered. The whole meeting must've been unsettling for him. Instead of the assistance he provided before, he simply walked beside Hiruzen and stared ahead of him with a scowl on his eyebrows.
As they reached the entrance, the shinobi opened the concrete door by pricking his hand and smearing the blood across the concrete. Only then did Hiruzen notice the dried up blood of the past who had been in there. The door shook and pushed aside on its own. Just as light from the outside streamed in, light that came from the chambers went out immediately. Hiruzen looked back at the darkness.
He wasn't sure if the Keepers had left the chamber or merely preferred the dark but he didn't feel like finding out. He stepped outside and turned back to the shinobi.
"Thank you for the assistance," he trailed off as he is realized he didn't know the man's name.
The shinobi seemed to catch on and smirked. "Dōitashimashite, Hokage-sama. But you do not need to know my name. I doubt we will ever cross paths again," he bowed and began to retreat back into the chambers. The door shook again as it began to close and Hiruzen watched as the blonde shinobi disappeared deeper into the chamber. Eventually the door closed and Hiruzen was left alone in the night.
He made his way back to the Hokage office, not exactly feeling like it but saw no alternative. He needed to be prepared for tomorrow. He somehow got the feeling he was going to have a long day.